Happy Halloween 2018 Layout

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HAPPY HALLOWEEN! I'M SO STOKED!! Here is a layout I made for the Scrapbook & Cards Today blog all about Halloween 2018 using my Truly Grateful collection and Halloween Wreath cut file.

I started by die cutting my Halloween Wreath cut file from textured white cardstock by American Crafts using a Silhouette Cameo 3. I spent a few hours backing all the little pieces with a rainbow of colors from my Truly Grateful collection. Not your typical orange and black Halloween colors, but it makes my heart so happy seeing all the bright colors!

On the purple B-side of Paper 10 I did some mixed media work. I started by drawing a circle with a pencil under where I wanted the cut file to go and then covered it with a layer of gesso using my fingers to smudge it into the background to create a smoky look. I like how this tones down the background so the colors will pop off of it and it's also a necessary step for watercolors so they don't soak into the paper. Gesso is basically a prepping medium.

Once the gesso dried I pooled water all over it and then dropped and splashed watercolors into it, trying to match the color of the backed cut file that would be over it. I used two sets of watercolors by Prima called Pastel Dreams and Tropicals - the colors match perfectly with most of my Pink Paislee collections. Once the watercolors dried I splashed watered down white acrylic paint on top and then dried the background with a hair dryer.

The background was pretty warped after all that mixed media business so I ran it through a Minc machine three times to flatten it. Worked like a charm! I added the backed cut file on top with foam squares for dimension and tucked a photo of Fox & Jane into the left side. Then I added the "HAPPY HALLOWEEN" title higgledy piggledy around the inner part of the wreath using the colorful Thickers. I sprinkled stars from the Cardstock Stickers, Puffy Stickers, and Epoxy Stickers all around the wreath tone-on-tone for texture.

I grabbed some pumpkins in the Ephemera Die Cuts, distressed the edges, and tucked them into the right side. I covered the "grateful" sentiment on one of the pumpkins with number stickers from my stash to document the year. I added a "happy place" sentiment banner also from the Ephemera Die Cuts above the photo along with a blue bird for fun and to bring out that pop of blue color. A few other elements were added into the clustering of embellishments: a pink flower with distressed edges from the Floral Die Cuts & a purple pumpkin and three mushrooms (all with distressed edges for texture) from the Cardstock Stickers. To finish I wrote journaling next to the photo with a white paint pen by Sharpie.

I hope this layout inspires you to break from traditional Halloween colors and create bright & spooktacular holiday pages using Truly Grateful! It's a fun challenge! Thanks for stopping by and have a safe and happy Halloween!

SUPPLIES: Patterned paper, stickers, die cuts, Thickers: TRULY GRATEFUL; gesso; white acrylic paint; white paint pen: Sharpie; Watercolors: Pastel Dreams and Tropicals by Prima; white cardstock; Die cut machine: Silhouette Cameo 3; Cut file: Halloween Wreath by Paige Evans

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Halloween Hoop by Zsoka Marko

Hello crafty friends, Zsoka Marko here, Happy Halloween to all of you who celebrate it! It's funny, I seem to have a blog post scheduled every year on Halloween! I don't mind though, I love working on Halloween projects even if we don't actually celebrate it lol. Some months ago I bought a few different gold hoops at my favorite store here in Germany thinking I could create wreaths for all kinds of occasions. Well, this is the first haha!

Paige has soooo many awesome Halloween-themed cut files, it was really hard to choose. I was looking for a spider web in the shape of a heart I remembered seeing but didn't find it, so I went with an older cut file: Spiderweb. Once I cut it, I actually found the other one I was looking for hahaha: Spiderweb Heart with Spider, plus a second one, Spiderweb Heart! My ring is just a bit smaller than 12" so I cut the spiderweb as big as I could from a 12" black cardstock so that it has some overhang. Not all ends are long enough but there's a few I could attach to the ring. I die cut some bats too in various sizes from the same cardstock - for these I used the Bat Background.

I then went through Paige's collections to find some purple, orange, and green papers for the Rolled Paper Flowers. I used my hot glue gun to assemble all the flowers. I then covered about half of the ring with a lime green elastic band I bought for my traveler's notebooks years ago. You could use ribbon too, whatever you have in your stash! Oh, one more thing I die cut, the BOO sentiment - I just used the Impact font for these.

Once everything was die cut and assembled, I could start putting my wreath together. I attached parts of the spider web to the elastic band, others to the ring, using hot glue. I arranged my flowers and glued them in place. The big letters followed, finally the bats. I added a few enamel dots to the middle of the layered flowers. Last but not least I attached some ribbon in coordinating colors so I could hang the wreath on our door.

That's pretty much it! I already forgot how much I love working on rolled flowers! I hope you'll give this idea a try! Thanks for stopping by today and have a fang-tastic day!

SUPPLIES: Patterned papers: TRULY GRATEFUL, WHIMSICAL, and OH MY HEART; Die cut machine: Silhouette Cameo; Cut files: Spiderweb, Bat Background, and Rolled Paper Flowers by Paige Evans

Blog: apocketfullofscrap.blogspot.com // Instagram: @zsoka_marko // Facebook: Zsoka Marko // YouTube: Zsoka Marko

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Halloween Layout by Brianna Lepper

Hi friends! Brianna Lepper here with another layout for the Paige Evans + Silhouette Design Team! Halloween is tomorrow so I thought it would be fitting to create a Halloween layout using Paige's newest collection, Truly Grateful. This collection is so versatile! I chose Paige's Halloween cut file and cut it out on white cardstock using my Silhouette Cameo 3 and backed it with numerous 12x12 patterned papers and the specialty paper from the collection.

Since this layout is Halloween-themed, I thought black cardstock as my base would be perfect! Not only would it allow my backed cut file to pop off of the page, but mixed media would look amazing on it! So I grabbed Paige's Star Confetti stencil and applied glitter paste from my stash through it. I wanted the stars to be subtle but sparkly. To help create more of a night sky, I added yellow, gold, and orange shimmer sprays. To finish the mixed media element off, I sprinkled white acrylic paint all over the page.

Once the mixed media dried, I took the finished cut file and popped it on dimensional adhesive to stick it down. I took my photo and layered pieces of the Journaling Spots underneath it, layered a few Floral Die Cuts, and a word from the Puffy Phrase Stickers.

I went ahead and embellished the right side of the page since the left side held my photo and an embellishment cluster. I took a wood veneer piece from the Mixed Embellishments and layered Floral Die Cuts and tangled thread around it. The little animals in the Puffy Stickers were perfect for documenting this photo of my boys since it was taken out at a farm. I added three of them around my page and placed them right on top of the cut file. This Halloween cut file is seriously so adorable!! I absolutely love the cat and cute candy corns!

Creating this layout was so much fun and easy! It didn't take long to back the cut file and the mixed media was super simple and easy to do. I love how the Truly Grateful collection can be used for so many different occasions. I hope I've inspired you in some way today! See you in my next post and happy Halloween!

SUPPLIES: Patterned paper, stickers, die cuts, Thickers, die cuts, embellishments: TRULY GRATEFUL; Stencil; white cardstock; white acrylic paint; Die cut machine: Silhouette Cameo 3; Cut file: Halloween by Paige Evans

Location: Louisiana, USA / Blog: I Love Paper Blog / Instagram: @briannalepper / Facebook: Brianna Nichole
YouTube: Brianna Lepper / Pinterest: Brianna Lepper

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BeYOUtiful Layout by Missy Whidden

Hey, friends! Missy Whidden here with a fun mixed media layout using lots of Paige’s products. I used Paige’s BeYOUtiful cut file, her Doily stencil, and lots of the Truly Grateful collection.  I am loving these deep rich colors.

I cut the design from Paper 21 and used Paper 10 as my background. I wanted lots of texture and color on this page so I used a few patterned papers to back the letters in the BeYOUtiful cut file. Before I glued the papers down, I added small strips of adhesive foam behind it to create dimension. Once I had my color scheme down, I began work on the background. I wanted three big texture spots on the background, so before using the Doily stencil, I smudged a lot of white gesso down. Then I placed the Doily stencil over those areas and scraped modeling paste over it using a palette knife. Once that dried, I used several Shimmerz sprays that matched the golden yellow, deep blue, and bold pink colors. I sprayed the colors right onto the paper, spritzed it with a bit of water, and used a brush to help spread the colors around.

I sorted through lots of embellishments and chose leaves from the Floral Die Cuts and I also fussy cut smaller flowers from Paper 15. Here you can see all the amazing texture and all that rich color…so good! The shadow effect from the dimension really makes this pop off the page. I added more fussy cut flowers here and then added an Epoxy Sticker along with tangled thread underneath.

I did more of the same in this area. I wanted to keep the embellishments to a minimum since the background was so textured and beautiful. I did add a matching Epoxy Sticker above the photo and I tucked in tangled thread in a few spots.

I hope this gives you some ideas to try on your next layout. It was a lot of fun to create! Have you tried Paige’s stencils yet? They make a huge impact on layouts. Give them a go! Thanks for stopping by and be sure to check out my process video for more details.

SUPPLIES: Patterned papers, stickers, die cuts, embellishments: TRULY GRATEFUL; Cut file: BeYOUtiful by Paige Evans; gesso; inks; Doily stencil; Die cut machine: Silhouette Cameo 3

Blog: littlenuggetcreations.blogspot.com // Instagram: @missywhidden // Pinterest: @missywhidden
Facebook: missy.whidden // YouTube: Missy Whidden

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Mini Album by Anita Bownds

Hi crafty friends, Anita here with you today sharing a fun little mini album using the Mini Album cut file and Truly Grateful collection by Paige. My mini is all about our kitty Kushan who’s blind and spends most of his time sleeping in various spots around the house.

I started off with a piece of patterned paper from the 12x12 Paper Pad and used my Silhouette Cameo to cut out the Mini Album. Once cut out I folded on all the score lines added a strip of Paper 10 for my ribbon and cut out the bow using Paper 24 and decorated using a flower from the Ephemera Die Cuts and a heart from the Epoxy Stickers. On the cover of the mini I add a mini doily, a die cut circle cut from Paper 06, and a heart punched from Paper 10 with a puffy heart from the Epoxy Stickers in the middle.

Then I started to decorate the inside of the mini. Using my Cameo I cut out the inserts in the cut file from Paper 03, Paper 06, Paper 09, and Paper 10 and using my sewing machine I add a border around each piece of paper then adhered it down. Then I matted my photos with papers from the 6x8 Paper Pad.

I made lots of little clusters of flowers from the Floral Die Cuts, Ephemera Die Cuts, and Wooden Buttons and then added a few stickers from the Cardstock Stickers, Puffy Phrase Stickers, and Puffy Stickers to each photo.

SUPPLIES: Patterned paper, stickers, die cuts, buttons, embellishments: TRULY GRATEFUL; Cut file: Mini Album by Paige Evans; Die cut machine: Silhouette Cameo

Location: Australia / Blog: Neat-N-Crafty / Instagram: @anitabownds / Facebook: Anita Bownds
YouTube: Anita B / Pinterest: Anita Bownds

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Fall Break in Seattle

Over Fall Break in October we headed up to Seattle to see my family. We got some pretty views of downtown and the Space Needle as we were landing at the Sea-Tac airport.

 First stop: Blazing Bagels of course! Best bagels we've ever had anywhere. We crave them often.

 It was the day after Fox's 9th birthday and he requested Grandma make sugar cookies. Delicious!

 Grandpa grew some pumpkins in the backyard.

 The colors of the leaves though! Bright red!

 My brother Eric, his lovely wife Tanya, and kiddos Zoe and Wes came over to hang out. It's been over a year since we've all been together and it was so fun to be reunited.

 My dad is the one who cuts all my wooden boards for coptic bookbinding covers and I'm almost out so we picked up two big sheets of plywood at Home Depot and cut them together. He even let me try out a power tool. Once :)

 The next morning we went to Ben Franklin. Yay for scrapbook stores!

I spy Truly Grateful!

 Then we went to Google where Grandpa works to have lunch. It's tradition! 

 It stopped raining every once in awhile so we would go outside and soak in the beautiful scenery.

 Gorgeous trees and fall colors.

 The next morning we went to a little pumpkin patch.

 We cut our own pumpkin. Chris said it reminded him of cutting Fox and Jane's umbilical cords lol.

 I liked these tiny flowers mixed between this trio of pumpkins.

We were practically the only ones there so it felt intimate and we could take our time. No rush.

 Vacations are a perfect time for stitching! I brought my new Sketch & Stitch Sugar Skull and got it done over the course of a few days.

Finished! Time to add it to a layout.

 One night we went over to Eric & Tanya's to babysit Wes.

 He is SUCH A CUTIE PATOOTIE!

I'll always remember how he gave me the grand tour of his house and showed me how everything works.

The next day we went to Seattle. First stop: Mae Phim Thai food. YUM.

 Love the architecture downtown.

 Then we walked to Pike's Place Market.

 Flower bouquets everywhere for around $15 a pop, such a spectacular deal for gorgeous, fresh, smelly good flowers.

 Fresh fruit and veg.

 Lots of layers and levels.

Can't visit Pike's Place without a peek at the Gum Wall. They must have just recently cleaned it off because there was hardly any gum.

 But don't worry, I'm sure it'll be covered again in no time! It's well underway!

 Grandma treated us to Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory Apple Pie apples. Thanks Tassel Love :)

 This was my uniform pretty much the entire trip. Thanks for letting me borrow your robe Malm :)

 Time to carve the pumpkin! The kids each took a turn drawing a part of the jack-o-lantern's face but they drew all their parts soooo tiny, it was hilarious. And that's all the contributing they did, ha! They think pumpkin guts are slimey and gross but Tanya and I love scraping pumpkin guts so peace out kiddos! She was an expert pumpkin gutter. And the smell! Makes me so nostalgic.

 Whatdoyathink? A+

 On our last night the sun came out for a few moments so we went on another walk around the neighborhood.

 Straight outta Twilight.

 We found the world's largest leaves on our walk! They are from Big Leaf Maple trees and were over 15" across.

 Not photoshopped or altered in any way, the leaves really are this big! Sure is beautiFALL in the PNW!

We had such a fun time on our Fall Break with family and eating all our favorite foods, visiting our favorite places, and more. Can't wait to see them again.

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